Slipping Through My Fingers

OK, a little while ago, Ann Bennett and I went to see Mama Mia. Since then, all I can think about is the following song. I wrote the words for ya, but I tried to include a link to the music as well if you'd rather listen. Since I'm not too savvy with this stuff yet, I don't know if it will work. Anyway, it is all about watching your little girl grow up. Ann Bennett is learning so much and growing up so fast, I guess this song just hit me. Bryant too is growing at an alarming rate, but the song's about a girl, so . . .

I don't want to let time slip through our fingers without paying attention. But, even more than that, I don't want to be the Mommy that yells all the time, is too stressed or is just plain mean. It's hard to find the balance sometimes. I am not a parent who doesn't parent because she wants to be a friend. I know children need parents. Our kids have responsibilities. In general, I think they have very little they have to do, but in comparison to some peers, our kids do more. And, let me tell you, it can be a battle. As I write this, I realize that the things that have become daily tasks, like making beds, are no longer battles. So, maybe that is my motivation. If we keep on, it will just be part of life and not worth fighting about. But, boy does the battle feel long! Our afternoons can be tumultuous between homework, reading requirements, putting away clean clothes, and heaven forbid picking up the things flung on the floor. Many times I think it would just be easier to do it, but I know there is value in learning to care for yourself. So, I persevere, but I'm not happy about the amount of yelling that I've done over the years. Kids should not be equipped to know which buttons to push! When I hear a song like this, I'm not only taken aback by how quickly they will be gone but by how I am using the time I have with them. I hope they know just how loved they are -- ALWAYS!

Schoolbag in hand
She leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye
With an absent-minded smile
I watch her go
With a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm loosing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes
Her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake
I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone
There's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt
I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
Well some of that we did
But most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers -

Schoolbag in hand
She leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

Siobhan McCarthy - Slipping Through My Fingers lyrics


Proof that Ann Bennett is growing at an alarming rate -- she just lost here 8th tooth, and she's still 6! Sorry about the picture. It's not the greatest, and I didn't realize it was quite so graphic!